Ten-Day War

The Ten-Day War (27 June-7 July 1991) was a brief war of independence that followed the Slovenian declaration of independence on 25 June 1991.

Led by Milan Kucan, Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia on 25 June 1991, and Kucan quickly began to inspect the Slovenian militia to prepare for the Yugoslav People's Army's reassertation of control over Slovenia. On 26 June 1991, after an inspection, Kucan returned home and received a phone call informing him that Yugoslav tanks were on the move. Yugoslav general Andrija Raseta told Kucan that he had been misinformed, and told him to go back to sleep; however, tanks were, in fact, moving into Slovenia. Kucan summoned his cabinet to the presidential offices, and they agreed, after a short meeting, that they would fight to protect Slovenian independence.

The Yugoslav 13th Corps left Rijeka, Croatia on the morning of 26 June 1991, moving towards Slovenia's borders with Italy. Local Slovenians spontaneously organized barracks and protests, and both sides avoided violence, as neither side wanted to be the one to fire the first shot. The Slovenians quicky took over their republic's border posts and the Brnik international airport, as the soldiers manning them were fellow Slovenes; in most cases, the guards simply changed uniforms and insignia without fighting. The Slovenes were therefore able to establish defensive positions in the case of a Yugoslav attack, and this meant that the Yugoslavs would have to fire the first shot.

The first shot was fired by a YPA officer at 12:30 PM on 27 June 1991, and further troop movements took place that morning. A Yugoslav column of tanks and armored personnel carriers from Vrhnika seized the facilities at the Brnik International Airport, and the Yugoslav Air Force dropped leaflets across the country, warning the Slovenes that all opposition would be crushed. The Slovene government decided to warn the Yugoslavs that their helicopters would be shot down if they continued to enter Slovene airspace, but the Yugoslavs disregarded this warning. On the afternoon of 27 June, the Slovenes shot down two Yugoslav helicopters with SA-7 missiles, killing the occupants. The Slovene militia then counterattacked against Yugoslav troops across Slovenia, capturing Trzin with one loss (while four Yugoslavs were killed). A tank column from the YPA 32nd Mechanized Brigade advancing from Varazdin, Croatia into Slovenia was held back at a barricade at Ormoz, and was unable to break through. However, the Yugoslavs would succeed in cutting off the borders.

On the night of 27-28 June, the Slovene militia was ordered to launch a general counteroffensive. At Strihovec, a YPA tank column advancing along the Austrian border came under attack by Slovene militiamen and police. The Yugoslav Air Force mounted two airstrikes in support of the tank column, killing four truck drivers. Heavy fighting also broke out at Nova Gorica on the Italian border, where the Slovenian special forces destroyed three YPA T-54/55 tanks and captured an additional three; among the four YPA dead was the commander of the armored column, and 100 of his men surrendered. This was the decisive battle of the war, and although the Yugoslav Air Force continued to bomb Slovenia (killing two journalists at Brnik Airport), the Slovenes held firm. On 30 June 1991, the Slovenes captured nine YPA tanks at Nova Gorica, along with the entire Dravograd garrison (16 officers and 400 men, plus equipment).

On 1 July 1991, the Slovenians captured several ammunition depots, while the YPA's Crni Vrh depot caught fire and was destroyed in a massive explosion, damaging much of the town. As the Slovenes forced back the YPA, the YPA's leadership sought to change the tempo of its operations, with Defense Minister Veljko Kadijevic supporting a full-scale invasion and the imposition of military rule in Slovenia. However, the collective presidency (headed by Serbia's Borisav Jovic) refused to authorize such an operation. On 2 July 1991, the Slovenes overran several border posts and forced YPA facilities across the country to surrender. That same day, the YPA rejected a ceasefire offer from the Slovenian government.

On 3 July, a large YPA armored column leaving Belgrade for Slovenia was halted by mechanical breakdowns, and the last remnants of the YPA in Slovenia collapsed. On 4 July, a ceasefire was agreed upon, and the two sides disengaged. Slovenian forces took over all of the country's border crossings, and the YPA forces were allowed to withdraw into Croatia. On 7 July 1991, Slovenian and Croatian independence were agreed to under the Brioni Accord, signed on the Brijuni Islands of Croatia. The two countries were promised that their independence would be realized after three months, and all Yugoslav forces withdrew from the country, being required to leave their heavy equipment behind by the Slovenes. During the war, 44 Yugoslavs and 19 Slovenes were killed, 146 Yugoslavs and 182 Slovenes wounded, and 4,693 Yugoslavs captured.